I’ve wanted a set of bluetooth headphones for a while. The cord free-ish operation, and no need to actually be tethered to my phone seemed too good to be true. This $25 pair does it all.
The earliest generations of bluetooth headphones seemed that this technology would never take to quality listening. It may still not be for the audiophile, but for active folks, who enough spending time moving around a bit more, these AYL QY8 Bluetooth headphones do the trick.
The earbuds fit easily into your ear, come complete with several varied size tips for a more custom fit, and have a simple pressure latch that holds them in your ear. Controls, from activation, to volume adjustment, are made via button press on the right side earbud. Pairing was easy, and charging was quick.
It is very nice having no extra cord dangling from my head, into my jacket or back pocket, when I’m walking the dogs. I’m frequently working two leashes, and I hate it when the phone gets tangled in the mess. The other place I’d hope to use them is on the motorcycle, but inside a helmet, with no ability to control the unit, its kinda limited to just playing music. Also, when I did manage to get the button jammed up against the foam, it just held it in and powered the unit off.
The sound quality on these phones is certainly good enough for an afternoon out walking the dogs. fishing, or paddling. When compared to other $19-50 bluetooth headsets, as well as my in-helmet Sena bluetooth communications system, sound better. They are not tinny, have enough bass for the wide variety of music I like, and present a bit of a sound stage. My prior experience with bluetooth streamed music has been something along the lines of AM radio. These AYL QY8s are the first lower end bluetooth headphone I’ve found that I was willing to use. For phone calls people said they sounded fine.
For $25 this is a fine set of outdoor/active sport headphones where the wires can be tucked up under your hat, and won’t yank at your phone.